pneumatically-operated projectile launching devices such as paintball guns, also called paintball markers, have been enhanced to provide a rapid and sustained firing of a large quantity of projectiles. One of such devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,326 Smith et al. Large capacity projectile loading and feeding hoppers and magazines are provided to mount above the feeding port of the gun positioned above the breech section. Such a holding and loading magazine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,852 Yokota et al. Some projectile loading and feeding implements combine a hopper mounted on the feeding port of the gun and a loading magazine adapted to dump its contents into the hopper as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,983 Stoneking. The aforesaid three patents are incorporated in this specification by this reference.
During a paintball game, the amount of ammunition that a player uses depends upon his tactical role. A first line attacker must display great mobility with only occasional firing of the gun. By contrast, a rear shooter covering the advance of the attackers must use a great deal of ammunition through constant firing. Equipping all guns with the same size magazine entails risk of burdening a mobile attacker or limiting the firing ability of the rear soldier having a less offensive role.
The instant invention results from an attempt to resolve without compromise, the ammunition needs of a variety of game players.